"You must forgive me, Thaddeus; I have nothing of the soldier
in my heart: it is all woman. But I will not detain you longer from
the rest you require; go to your room, and try and recruit yourself
for the dangers to-morrow will bring forth. I shall employ the night
in prayers for your safety."
Consoled to see any composure in his mother, he withdrew, and after
having heard that his numerous guests were properly lodged, went to
his own chamber.
Next morning at sunrise the troops prepared to march. General
Wawrzecki, with his officers, begged permission to pay their personal
gratitude to the countess for the hospitality of her reception; but
she declined the honor, on the plea of indisposition. In the course
of an hour, her son appeared from her apartment and joined the
general.
The soldiers filed off through the gates, crossed the bridge, and
halted under the walls of Praga. The lines of the camp were drawn and
fortified before evening, at which time they found leisure to observe
the enemy's strength.
Russia seemed to have exhausted her wide regions to people the narrow
shores of the Vistula; from east to west, as far as the eye could
reach, her arms were stretched to the horizon. Sobieski looked at
them, and then on the handful of intrepid hearts contained in the
small circumference of the Polish camp. Sighing heavily, he retired
into his tent; and vainly seeking repose, mixed his short and
startled slumbers with frequent prayers for the preservation of these
last victims to their country.
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